It Started With a Fight
by CaptainKatie643
Summary: Katniss meets Cato during the Victory Feast in her district at the age of 10. Cato is struck by the spitfire attitude of the Katniss Everdeen. But is Katniss affected by him or does she view him as the killer she saw? When the Games come between them, who will win and who will Katniss choose? Cato, the boy she knew as a child? Or Peeta, the boy who saved her life? Kato and Peeniss
1. Chapter 1

It Started With a Fight-Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own THG**

**Katniss' POV**

I woke up to the sound of my father's hunting boots walking across the kitchen floor, early in the morning. I sat straight up in the bed, trying to get out of it before my father left without waking up Prim. I stepped over her sleeping form and silently got dressed in my hunting clothes and ran out into the kitchen while putting my hair into a braid. My father hadn't left yet, he was packing up some bread, water and some dry meat we had. I smiled at him in joy that he hadn't left without me.

"Are you ready to hunt today, Katniss?" He asked me quietly.

"Yes! I am totally ready!" I scream-whispered.

"We won't be able to spend such a long time in the woods today because of the Victory Tour. You remember last year's tour right?" He asked me.

Of course I remembered, that was the year that the winner from District 2 was announced. I think his name was Brutus and his mentor was Enobaria. It was a very violent year when Brutus fought, my parents made Prim and I leave the room when we all were watching the small TV in the living room.

I nodded and put on my hunting boots while my father put the food and water into a backpack. The Victory Tour consists of all the mentors and the one victor of that year. I don't exactly know why but they always come each year but they do.

"You ready?" He asked me and held out his hand to help me up off the floor.

"Ready." I told him, smiling.

We walked out of the house and down to the meadow that was right next to the fence. No one was out yet, it was Sunday and everyone had work off from the mines today, but they would have had work off anyway but the tour happened to be on Sunday, I think that they did that on purpose.

The Victory Tour lasted for about a week in each District. So the whole Victory Tour lasted maybe a month or 2. The only person who won in our district was Haymitch Abernathy. He won in the Quarter Quell, I have never seen one before but I heard that they are very bad.

Since Victory Tours last for a week, everyone only has one day off. And that day is the day that the victor and mentors arrive, then everyone has to go back to work.

My father held the barbed wire up for me to pass under and he followed. We walked hand in hand in the direction of the spot where my father kept his and my bow and arrow.

As we walked, I saw a couple mockingjays up in the trees. I let go of my father's hand and stood still. He walked on a little further until he turned to ask why I stopped. I motioned for him to be quiet and looked up at the trees. He smiled and I began to sing.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes  
And when they open, the sun will rise_

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet–  
–and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away_

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet–  
– and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

_Here is the place where I love you._

My father stood there smiling proudly at me and looked back up to the mockingjays when I was finished. They were silent for a second and then they started to sing the song. I smiled up at the trees and walked back to my father. I grabbed his hand and we continued along, listening to the mockingjays singing the song.

When the log was in sight, I let go of his hand and ran up to the log. I grabbed my small bow and my quiver of arrows. I handed my father his bow and arrows and we set off to go get some dinner for our family. We were going to eat lunch at the Victory Feast. I have gotten very skilled at using the bow and I could shoot rabbits and squirrels now. I'm still working on shooting birds, they just move so much and I can't seem to shoot in the right spot.

I shot down 2 rabbits and a squirrel and my dad shot down a rabbit and 2 birds. That should be enough for today; we still have to stop at the Hob to trade in some things. We sat down on the ground, putting our packed breakfast on a tree stump.

"So, who's coming this year? For the Victory Tour." I asked him while munching on a piece of bread.

"I think that the victor's name is Finnick Odair from District 4. He is only 14 years old. Can you believe that?" He asked me. I shook my head thinking about how in 2 years, I will have to have my name put in the reaping bowl to be picked for The Hunger Games.

I am 10 years old and Prim is 6, I definitely wanted to protect Prim but there was no way I could protect her from the reaping. Maybe I won't allow her to get tessare. That would help her and put the odds in her favor.

We packed up after our delicious breakfast and headed back to the log. Along the way we took turns choosing what song to sing. My father knew a lot of songs that he taught me, his family had been passing them down for generations. Some of them had been before the Dark Days! And even before there was even a Capitol or districts! And of course, the mockingjays joined in right after we sang, song after song.

After we hid our weapons, we went to the Hob. We traded 2 of my rabbits and one of my father's birds. Leaving us with 1 squirrel, 1 rabbit and 1 bird, plenty for dinner and maybe some for tomorrow. We got some cloth and thread, some spices and herbs for my mother by trading the animals.

We did pretty well for that morning, even if we didn't spend a lot of time in the forest. We put everything in our hunting bags so that no one would arrest us or be suspicious since there were Capitol people all around today, a train had arrived earlier because they wanted to set up the day before. The actual mentors and victor would be here at 12.

As we walked by, everyone was putting on nice clothes for the Victory Tour. It reminded me of reaping day. I walked closer to my father. Many people glanced at us as we walked through The Seam. Most of them didn't know what we did but some did, they saw us at The Hob or saw us come through the fence. But no one did anything about it. You had to do what you had to do to survive, we made our decision and they had made theirs.

I opened the front door to our house and walked in, my father followed me. I saw my mother cleaning in the kitchen and Prim must have been getting ready.

"We're home!" I yelled, smiling and dumping the contents of my bag on the kitchen table.

"Katniss! You know better, don't dump that bag on the kitchen table." Scolded my mother. She turned to my dad and kissed him. "Welcome home, sweetie. Did you guys have a good hunt?"

"Yes, Katniss shot down 2 rabbits and a squirrel. But we traded the rabbits. I got a rabbit and 2 birds." He answered. I smiled, proud of my kills.

"Great! Now Katniss, I need you to go get washed up. You spend so much time in the woods; I can believe that you are part of the woods yourself." She told me, pulling a leaf from my hair. "The bath tub is already filled with warm water, better hurry before it gets cold."

I walked out of the kitchen and into the makeshift bathroom. The toilet was a pot that we had to empty every time we used it and the bath tub was just a wooden tub. There was a water basin that we had to fill up with water from outside whenever we used it and a cracked mirror above it.

I stripped of my hunting clothes and stepped into the tub. At least the water was still warm. I scrubbed myself clean, making sure I would look presentable. I scrubbed the dirt from my feet, hair and finger nails. When I was finally satisfied, I got out and dried myself with a towel.

I walked out and went to the bedroom to see what I should wear.

"The bathroom's open!" I yelled through the house.

I shut the door and dropped my towel. I dug through the dresser until I found the brown skirt and white blouse that I always wore to special occasions. I was about to put it on until someone knocked on the bedroom door. I grabbed my towel and wrapped myself in it.

When I opened the door my mother came in holding a pale blue dress, it looked new.

"I bought this for you, it was on sale and I decided that you needed something else to wear." She smiled at me.

"Thanks, mom." I said and hugged her.

"Call me when you are ready for me to do your hair." She said and shut the door behind her.

I put the dress on and it was beautiful. I had never worn something like this before. Well, I had but it has been so long. I used to wear dresses to school when I was little but I outgrew them and we couldn't afford dresses anymore. Now Prim wears them.

I twirled around a little bit, admiring it as the skirt of the dress spread out around me.

"Mom! I'm ready for you to do my hair!" I yelled. She came in on me while I was twirling around.

"Whoa! Slow down, Kat. Don't want you to fall over." She laughed and grabbed my arm as I almost toppled over.

I giggled and sat down on the bed facing away from her as she sat down behind me ready to do my hair. I loved it when she did it. Her hands were always so soft and it felt good against my head. This year, my hair was finally long enough to do one braid instead of 2.

"Hey mom?" I asked her.

"Yes, Katniss?" She said.

"Can you do just a regular braid today? I want to look like myself." I asked timidly.

"Of course, dear." She told me, sounding a bit surprised. Whenever I wanted her to do my hair, I always wanted it fancy and I guess she wasn't prepared for me to ask for something normal.

When she was done, I looked at the mirror and saw my normal braid coming down over my shoulder. I smiled at myself, glad I looked somewhat like myself. The dress was a big change for me.

"Thanks, mom." I said, giving her a hug.

Prim walked into the room. She looked so pretty, she was wearing a dress that my mother must have also bought because I have never seen her in it. She had her hair in 2 braids, like me when I was younger.

"You look so pretty, Kat." She told me.

"You look so beautiful, Prim. I wish I were I pretty as you." I said. She just shook her head and hugged me.

Mother grabbed a dress that she had when she lived in the richer part of District 12 and put it on. Then she put her hair up in a regular bun. And hugged both of us.

"Come on, ladies. Time to go greet the mentors and victor." Called my dad.

My mother took my father's hand and they walked out of the house. I took Prim's hand in mine and we walked out of the house.

"Act nice even if you don't like them, ok?" I told her. I disagreed with the Games and usually didn't like the victors because they killed people so mercilessly.

Prim nodded and gripped my hand tightly. I don't know why she was so nervous. Maybe she didn't feel comfortable being in the presence of killers.

We followed my parents into the town square and showed up just in time to see the train come rolling in. I walked with Prim closer to the front so she would be able to see.

The first person to walk out was the victor this year from District 4, Finnick Odair. He was strikingly handsome for being 14 years old. His deep blue eyes met mine and I blushed. Why was I acting like this? I never blushed. Besides, he was 4 years older than me. He walked off the platform and walked down the stairs that led to where everyone was standing. A couple of girls older than me squealed when he smiled at them. The mentors and victors were allowed to go and do whatever they wanted in the districts so Finnick just walked off in the direction of Victor's Village probably in search of some calm considering that there was squealing girls everywhere.

All the other mentors filed out of the train, each walking off in different directions. Some young children followed them. This was strange, maybe they were their children? Some were my age and some were older than me, some were younger than me. I would ask my father about them. I saw a dirty blond haired boy who looked menacing with those muscles, he looked older than me. He could easily beat me up; I planned to stay away from him. A smaller dark haired girl walked out behind him, she carried a knife with her. My eyes widened at her.

More children came out following the mentors. They looked like they were training for the Games. Maybe they were the kids that my dad always talked about when the Games came on, he called them the Careers.

I kept my eye on the dirty blond boy and the dark haired girl. The boy had dark blue eyes and he kept looking around in disgust, maybe he didn't like our district. The little girl just stood there playing with her knife, she had brown eyes.

I went to look for my father to ask about the children here. I was pulling Prim behind me, looking for him until she saw the bakery window and dragged me over to look at the cakes. I sighed and looked for my father in the crowd while Prim gazed into the window gushing about how pretty they were.

The Victory Feast was already in progress so I decided I would look for my father later.

"Prim, let's go eat. We can come back later; those cakes will be here later." I told her and walked her to the buffet set up.

We were one of the last ones to the feast so I made Prim her plate without having any trouble waiting in line. I spotted my parents and sent her in the direction of them. I walked back to the buffet where the food was almost gone and started to make my plate.

I saw one chocolate chip cookie, a rare treat in District 12, sitting on one of the platters and went to grab it. But another hand suddenly reached before mine and took it. I frowned and looked to see who took my cookie. I looked up to see the blond boy from District 2. He just smirked at me when he saw the scowl on my face.

"That was my cookie." I told him, still holding my plate.

"Well, you were too slow. I got it before you." He answered, taking a bite out of it with a smug look on his face.

"I saw it first. I should have it." I said, trying to contain my rage. Who did this boy think he was, just coming into my district and stealing my cookie? I was a poor Seam girl; shouldn't I be the one eating? He looked healthy enough anyway.

"Oh yeah? Then come and get it. I bet that no one from this disgusting district would have the guts to try." He cackled. How could he just insult my district like that?

"Watch me." I told him. Then threw my plate of food at his face.

The food ran down his face and on to the ground. I started cracking up until I saw his face. There was complete rage and fury written all over it. I knew I had just made a big mistake.

"I'll kill you!" He screamed, I started running away like there was no tomorrow. He chased after me. "Come back here, District 12!"

By then, many heads were turned and watching us. I kept running though, some Peacekeepers tried to chase after us but we were too fast. I turned my head around to see if he was still chasing me and I tripped on a rock and I stumbled. That was when he caught up to me and tackled me.

We rolled down a little hill in the road. He ended up on top of me and started punching me in the face. I struggled underneath him and finally pushed him off of me. I may be small but I have worked up some muscle hunting and climbing trees.

I jumped on top of him and started punching him. I have never been in a fist fight before so I had no experience. I got in a couple good punches but he blocked most of them.

Then I felt a pair of hands grab me and pull me off of him. I kept glaring at him but let the hands drag me away from him. He glared at me and spit a bit of blood out of his mouth, his nose was bleeding and I'm pretty sure my lip was bleeding and I had a bruise on my cheek.

I tilted my head back and saw the victor of District 12, Haymitch, holding my arm. He was laughing at us in his usual drunk manner. I looked at the person above the boy and saw the mentor from District 2, Brutus, frowning at the boy.

I stood up and yanked my arm out of Haymitch's hand. I glared at the boy and brushed the dirt off of my dress. I made sure my hair was in place and started to walk away. My father ran up to me and gasped in horror at my face and the scene behind me and the blood on my face.

"Katniss Marie Everdeen! Were you fighting with this boy?" He said to me. I just nodded and kept walking away from him. I was still mad at the boy.

"Hey! Come back here, you will apologize to him." My father told me.

"What! He started it. He called our district disgusting and said I didn't have the guts to take my cookie back from him!" I yelled, wiping the blood that was running down my chin from my lip.

"Katniss! You will apologize. Now." My father said to me, through gritted teeth. Apparently, my father hated fighting; I never knew that, maybe because he never had to deal with me fighting.

"Fine." I said to my father. Haymitch stood there watching me, with a look of amusement on his face, so did Brutus. The boy stared at me with a look of curiousness in his eyes, probably wondering if the girl who had the guts to beat him up was going to say sorry. "I am sorry for punching you and throwing food in your face."

With that, I spun on my heel and walked away to find Prim and my mother. I was still hungry, maybe they had some leftovers.

**Haymitch's POV**

I watched as the little girl who actually beat up the little boy from District 2 walk away. She had a fire in her eyes that unbelievably never failed to shine through, not even when her father forced her to say sorry and make her look like a nice girl. Which she obviously wasn't.

That girl was going to be something special.

"Sorry for all the trouble. She usually isn't like that. I hope he will be ok, I should probably go catch up with her." Said the girl's father and then he walked away, chasing after the girl.

I turned back to look down at the boy named Cato. He was training to be a Career in the Hunger Games.

"Boy, you better watch out for that girl. She's got a special fire in her soul." I told him and walked back towards the liquor table. That was probably the most sober thing I have said all day.

**Cato's POV**

I couldn't believe that girl. She had the guts to beat me up. I was beginning to feel sorry that I didn't say sorry and that I actually punched her. Her eyes were so pretty; they were sleet gray but had a special fire in them. And her long hair was a beautiful mahogany brown. But her eyes were the best part. Her name was beautiful too. Katniss Marie Everdeen, like the sweet plant that we would occasionally eat back in District 2.

I took Brutus' hand as he reached down to help me up. I brushed off the dirt from the road that had gotten on my shirt and pants and walked back to the Victor's Village house that District 2 was assigned to stay in.

The house was like any other Victor's Village house, but this one had been untouched until the cleaning people came and dusted and restocked everything. I had only seen a victor's house a couple times and that was when I went to Brutus' and Enobaria's houses.

My room wasn't big and wasn't small and I thought it was perfect. I had my own bathroom, which was normal to me.

I pretty much kept to myself until I was called down to dinner.

"Hey there, Cato. So, I heard that a District 12 girl beat you up today." Said Enobaria, laughing. I turned pink and immediately defied it.

"Uh-uh! I won in the end. I beat her up too!" I said, mad that she thought this was funny. She just laughed again while I stabbed my fork viciously into my vegetables. Clove watched me curiously, she obviously hadn't heard about my fight with Katniss today.

The adults continued on with their daily gossip and adult topics. I sat there thinking about Katniss. Her eyes, her hair, her voice, her name. I was intoxicated with Katniss and I barely knew her. While the adults were distracted, Clove started to ask me questions.

"So, a girl beat you up today? And she was District 12?" She laughed. "Wow, Cato, you are losing your talent."

"I beat her up. I gave her a bloody lip and a bruise on her cheek." I boasted. I didn't want to look weak in front of Clove even if I felt bad that I had hurt Katniss.

"Whatever." Said Clove and she went back to her knife.

When dinner was over, I excused myself and went upstairs. I changed into my pajamas, took a shower and went to bed. I was tired after the events that happened today. I was definitely going to visit Katniss tomorrow. Maybe we could play or something.

It didn't take me long to slip into a Katniss dream filled sleep.

**Don't forget to review and tell me how it was!**

**~Miss Embers**


	2. Chapter 2

It Started With a Fight-Chapter 2

**Yes, this is a shitty chapter. No, you cannot be mad at me about it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own THG**

**Cato's POV**

I woke up to Clove ripping the sheets off of my body. I groaned and my hands searched for the sheets.

"Get up. It's time to train." Said Clove, cackling about my mood. I sighed and sat up in my bed. I forgot I had training today, I guess seeing Katniss would have to wait.

Clove walked out of the room and I heard her walk down the stairs. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and it read 7:00. That wasn't too bad, I have woken up earlier.

I sat up and yawned, I stretched my arms out to loosen them up, then I got up to get dressed. There was no point in me taking a shower since I was going to get hot and sweaty anyway. I would take one after training so I wouldn't smell bad when I saw Katniss.

I put on some loose pants that stopped right below my knees and a white tank top that I heard was called a wife-beater. I don't really understand that name because why would a shirt beat a wife? It just confused me. I brushed my teeth and brushed my hair so it spiked out in front. I smiled at the mirror, satisfied with my look. I then walked down the stairs to get some breakfast. Clove, Enobaria and Brutus sat at the kitchen table, eating.

"So you finally woke up." Said Brutus, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth. I shrugged, knowing better than to say something back to him. I sat down next to Clove and began to serve myself the food that sat in the middle of the table.

"Cato, I need you to go give this to Haymitch for me." Said Enobaria, she handed me a book that read 'Alcoholics, Ways to Improve.' My eyebrow raised but I put it in my lap and finished my breakfast.

"He's going to kill himself one day if he doesn't stop." Said Enobaria, making a comment about Haymitch.

"I'm going to go give this to Haymitch." I said, getting up from my spot after I finished my plate.

"Be back in 10 minutes, or you have to do double suicides." Said Brutus, I groaned internally. Suicides are a type of running exercise that is very hard to do. "It should take a while to wake him up."

I put on my tennis shoes and stepped into the morning air. It was a bit chilly but I knew it would wear off as the sun rose. I walked over to Haymitch's house with the book in my hand. I looked up at the house to see that no lights were on and it didn't seem like anyone was inside. I knocked on the door and waited for a couple minutes to find that no one answered. I put my hand hesitantly on the door handle and turned it.

The door swung open and I looked inside. The house was a mess, there were bottles and trash everywhere and it smelled terrible. Some plates and other decorations were broken on the floor. I walked slowly in and looked around for Haymitch.

"Haymitch?" I called, walking deeper into the house. "Haymitch!"

When no one answered I thought that maybe he was upstairs but I turned my head to see him passed out at the kitchen table. I rolled my eyes at him and walked over to him.

"Wake up, Haymitch." I said, shaking his shoulder. When he didn't wake up, I decided that water would do the trick.

I went to the kitchen and filled up a bowl of ice cold water. I walked back to the table and dumped it all over Haymitch. He jumped up immediately and it was too late for me to notice that he had a knife in his hand. He waved it around wildly, slicing the air. He cut me once on the stomach but I backed away before he could do it again. He finally gained some sense and put the knife on the table. He looked at me, a confused look on his face.

"What do you want, kid?" He asked, still grumpy from the water.

"Enobaria wanted me to give this to you." I said, tossing the book on the table. He took one look at it and started laughing.

"That woman still thinks she can get me to stop, doesn't she?" He mused, smiling. "Sorry about the cut, by the way." He said, wiping water off his face.

"Its fine, it makes up for the water." I said, walking to the door. I put my hand on my stomach and lifted it and saw blood smeared on it. The blood seeped through my shirt, making a red blotch in the middle of the shirt. "Plus, I've had worse." I said, wiping the blood on my pants.

Haymitch gave me a sympathetic look, I don't really know why. Didn't he know that we trained for the Games?

"Well, bye. I have to go find Brutus." I said, walking out the door.

"See ya, kid." Said Haymitch, running a hand through his growing hair.

I walked carelessly through Victor's Village; I must have looked crazy with a bleeding cut showing through my shirt. The bleeding was nearly stopped now so I didn't worry. I saw Clove and Brutus standing in the front yard of our house. I jogged over to them to find an impatient Clove and an annoyed Brutus.

"_Finally._" Said Clove, throwing her knife into a tree planted in the front yard, it landed dead center in a hollow in the tree.

"Let's go." Said Brutus, walking out of Victor's Village. Clove walked up to the tree and ripped the knife out of the hole. I walked behind Brutus.

We passed the various other Victor's houses and entered the town. District 12 in general disgusted me. It was dirty, poor and weak. Everything that District 2 wasn't. District 12 was filled with rats and thieves. At least that's what I was taught, but when I met Katniss, that didn't seem so true anymore. But I could see that the people here were starving and weak. They would do anything for a scrap of food. I turned my nose up at them and followed Brutus, Clove did the same.

Brutus led us to a meadow of some sort. It had flowers, butterflies and bugs in it. Someone had put a couple racks of weapons in the field for us to use.

"I want you to warm up by running around the field 10 times. No stopping." Ordered Brutus.

Clove and I went off running, we knew the consequences if we didn't listen.

~o~0~o~

Halfway through the day, Brutus let us stop to have lunch. I was sweaty and tired but I couldn't let that show through.

When an Avox came over to me and Clove, she handed us 2 bagged lunches and we sat on the ground. I ripped my bag open and started shoving a sandwich down my throat. Clove took out her knife and started poking holes in the top violently. The Avox watched with wide eyes. I rolled my eyes.

"You don't need to be so violent Clove. It's your lunch, not your enemy." I said, licking my fingers.

She didn't answer but she ended the bag's 'life' by slicing it open. She took her sandwich out and cut that plastic bag open too. I rolled my eyes once more and turned my head to see Haymitch and Finnick walking towards us. I just stared at them while Haymitch motioned for Finnick to stay back while he walked over to Brutus. Finnick watched us with a mix of sympathy and disgust in his eyes, everything that he acted as for the camera and fans was now gone and he looked to be a regular 14 year old boy, except for some of his strange flinching and cautiousness.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" Said Clove, watching me with a smirk on her face. I whipped my head around to face her, glaring.

"I'm not! He just annoys me." I said, taking a bite out of my raw vegetables.

"You're just jealous that he won the Games when he was 14 years old. And you have to wait until you're 18." Said Clove, her smirk growing, knowing that she was right. And she was, I just wasn't going to admit it.

"He just annoys me because he thinks he's all high and mighty because he's got all the girls swooning over him, and you're one of them." I said, my mouth forming my own smirk. Clove's eyes widened and she turned pink.

"I do not swoon over him!" She objected, but I could hear it in her voice. She was a huge fan of Finnick and we both knew it.

"Uh-huh." I said, smiling. She rolled her eyes and grumbled unintelligibly.

We both turned our heads around to the sound of Haymitch and Brutus talking loudly. They weren't quite shouting but we could still hear them.

"You shouldn't be working them this hard. They are just kids! They deserve a break!" Said Haymitch, waving his hands towards us.

"They are training for the Games and should be working this hard if they want to win." Said Brutus, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Whatever. You go ahead and take their childhood away." Grumbled Haymitch, stalking away from Brutus and Finnick followed him.

"Ok, let's begin some weapon training." Said Brutus, his voice seeming a little uneasy since Haymitch talked to him.

"What did Haymitch want?" Asked Clove, walking over to the knife rack, I walked over to the sword rack.

"He just wanted to take you guys around District 12 and show you everything. I personally think that there is nothing to see in this dirty district. It's worthless." Said Brutus, he then ordered an Avox to go bring the dummies for us to use out. She ran to go get more Avoxes to help her I guess.

"Can we go tomorrow?" Asked Clove, she could ask him stuff like that and not get punished or yelled at because Brutus was always sweet on Clove. She was probably his favorite student. I was probably his second favorite.

He stared at Clove, trying to make a decision. She stared back, making cute little wide eyes at him.

"Please, Brutus?" She pleaded.

"Fine, but you have to work extra hard the next day." Said Brutus, groaning at her. The Avoxes had just set up the dummies in rows in front of us.

Clove smiled and threw a knife in the dummy in front of her and it hit it right in the heart.

**Katniss' POV**

I was walking down the streets with Prim looking in all of the shops for a gift for my parents. It was their anniversary next week and I wanted to have a present ready. We were exiting a shop that sold clothes with my money still in my pocket. We hadn't found anything yet so we headed to the next shop. But something caught my eye.

I saw a glimpse of the meadow in between the shops. I saw the head of the boy who I got into a fight with yesterday. My eyebrows crinkled and I walked closer to the gap between the shops to see if it was him. It was.

"Hey Prim, come with me." I said, grabbing her hand in mine. I led her through the gap between the shops and I stopped right before we stepped into the sunlight. "Stay here." I told her and let go of her hand.

I walked forward and saw that he seemed to be training with a sword. He was slicing the dummies heads off and it sort of frightened me. It reminded me of what he could have done to me if I hadn't pushed him off of me yesterday. I looked around him to see the brown haired girl throwing knives viciously into the dummies. My eyes widened as they hit the target each time. I noticed Brutus just standing there, watching them in approval.

I started to back up away from them in horror when the boy spotted me. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw me but softened when he saw me backing away.

"Wait!" He called, reaching his hand towards me. Luckily, Brutus or the brown haired girl didn't seem to notice. I turned away from him and ran back to Prim. I grabbed her hand quickly and pulled her out of the small alley.

"Come on, Prim." I said urgently when she fell behind. I needed to get her away from those monsters.

"Where are we going?" She asked, stumbling on her feet as we ran to the bakery.

"Away from the meadow." I said, opening the door to the bakery.

We entered and the door slowly shut behind us. I looked out the window and saw that the boy wasn't following me. I sighed and led Prim to the counter. A blonde boy with light blue eyes stood at the counter, watching us. I smiled at him and he smiled back but he seemed to be in a daze. He watched my face as I scanned the glass case where the baked goods sat.

"What do you want, Prim?" I asked her, reaching into my pocket to pull out some money. I think we could spare a dollar or two.

"That one." Said Prim, pointing to a small cheese bun.

"We'll take one cheese bun, please." I said, smiling at the boy. He seemed to be my age. The boy didn't say anything, he just smiled and nodded, he seemed to be in a daze again.

"Are you ok?" I asked him, looking at him funny. "My mother's a healer; I can take you to her."

"No, no, I'm fine." He said, chuckling at me. "Here's your cheese bun. That will be 50 cents."

"Ok, here you go. Thanks." I said, handing the bag to Prim. I handed the boy the money and we sat down at a table near the front window.

"Thank you, Katniss." Said Prim, taking a big bite out of the bun.

"You're welcome, Prim." I said, pulling a piece of the bun off and popping into my mouth.

We sat at the table for about 5 minutes. I would have been happy to just sit there forever if it meant I could continue eating that cheese bun. It was delicious. Some movement caught my eye outside of the bakery. I looked out the window and saw the boy. First, I scowled; he seemed to be looking for something, probably us. Then, I realized the danger we could be in.

"Come on, Prim. Let's go." I said, taking the trash where the cheese bun used to be and threw it in a trash can. I took her hand and led her to the door.

I looked out of the window again to see the boy facing away from us. I took this chance to leave the bakery. I opened the door slowly and poked my head out. The boy was still facing away from us; he was now talking to a man. I opened the door all the way and pulled Prim through it. I swiftly shut the door and took off at a run. Well, I tried to. Prim slipped on a rock and fell but I pulled her arm up and saved her.

"Ouch, Katniss!" She yelled, rubbing her arm. My eyes widened and I looked up to where the boy was and he was staring directly at us.

"Hurry, Prim." I said, pulling her behind me as I ran. I didn't technically run because Prim was slowing me down but I tried to. Picking her up wasn't an option; I wasn't strong enough for that.

"Wait, I just want to talk to you!" Yelled the boy, running after us. I looked back and saw him catching up to us.

"In here, Prim." I said, pulling her into the gap between 2 shops. I stood in front of Prim, pushing her against the wall. I blocked her from anyone's view.

We stood in the small alley waiting for the boy to find us. We were both breathing heavily. I saw the figure of the boy stop in front of the alley. He turned his head and peered into it. We stayed in the shadows and didn't move. He walked into the alley, the sun still shining on him. We were still in the dark. I didn't notice before but he was sort of cute. His hair shined in the sunlight, he had deep blue eyes that were very pretty.

"I can see you, you know." He said, staying in the sunlight. His words snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What do you want?" I snapped, I had to remember that he could kill me, that he was the enemy, that he could kill Prim.

"Well, I just didn't want you to think that I was some crazy person after you saw me in the meadow." He said, saying it like it was obvious. I didn't answer him; I didn't know what else to say. "I'm not always like that, you know." He said, leaning against one of the shops.

"Why did you come to find me?" I asked, my stance in front of Prim relaxing a bit.

"Because I wanted to tell you that I'm not just some kid who can kill you with a sword. I wanted you to know that I'm more than that. That I won't hurt you." He answered, but I knew that there was something else that he wasn't telling me.

"I like him." Said Prim, coming out behind me. She ran towards him and I reached out to stop her but pulled my hand back. He said he wouldn't hurt us, right? Prim ran up in front of him and into the sunlight. "I'm Prim. I'm Katniss' sister." She said, sort of puffing her chest out. My mouth curved into a smile and I chuckled.

"Hi, Prim. I'm Cato. I'm from District 2." He said, smiling at Prim. My eyes went to his face and it took my breath away. His smile left me in a daze.

"Katniss, are we going to get mommy and daddy's present?" Asked Prim, turning to me. I forced my eyes away from Cato's face and to Prim's.

"Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me, Prim." I said, walking towards her.

"Do you mind if I come? My training is over for the day." Said Cato, looking hopefully at me.

"Yeah, can he come? Please, Katniss?" Pleaded Prim, her wide eyes staring at me.

"Fine, he can come." I said, rolling my eyes at Prim but a smile had made its way to my face.

Prim skipped out into the street and I stepped out into the sunlight, following her. Cato kept pace next to me.

"Thanks." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. I looked at him, confused. "For giving me a second chance." He explained when he saw my confused expression.

I didn't answer him; I just stared at the ground thoughtfully. Could he be lying? We were just punching each other yesterday and now he was thanking me.

No, he wouldn't do that.

**I started a blog for all of my stories; it will give you information about how the updating process is going and what an outfit might look like or something. The link is on my profile.**

**~Miss Embers**


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